The Blood of Dawnwalker: How to Access the Cathedral Library

The locked door in the Cathedral Complex garden is one of the first hard stops in Svartrau City. It leads into the cathedral library, it cannot be opened from the outside, and the quest A Monk and a Saint parks the objective “Gain access to the cathedral library” on your tracker until you find another way in. There are two ways through, and which one you use depends entirely on whether it is day or night.

Quick answer: At night, get into the Cathedral Complex’s northeastern garden, use Shadowstep to reach the library roof, drop or Clawride to the lower platform on the far side, then Shadowstep again onto the second-floor balcony and open the balcony door.

Cathedral library location in Svartrau City

The library sits in the northeastern garden of the Cathedral Complex, in the main part of Svartrau City. The cathedral itself is one of the tallest structures around, so the complex is easy to spot from the rooftops.

A note is pinned beside the locked garden door, and it tells you the truth of the situation. The Library Key is already inside the building. You have to break in first, then unlock the door from the other side.

Getting into the northeastern garden

Before the balcony matters, you need to be standing in the garden. The cathedral doors behave differently depending on the time, so the approach changes.

Time	Route into the garden
Day	Walk in through the Cathedral Complex’s main doors, then exit through the northeastern doors into the garden. No abilities needed.
Night (blacksmith route)	Fast travel to the Svartrau North East Shrine, head toward the blacksmith, go behind the forge, pass through the southeastern metal gate, Shadowstep to the roof, then drop into the garden.
Night (tower route)	Climb the Cathedral Complex Scouting Tower and Clawride down into the garden from the northern edge.

Night route: Shadowstep onto the library balcony

This is the fast version, and it skips the deacon’s errand entirely. It only works after dark, when Coen has his vampire traversal abilities available.

Move across the rooftops toward the marked objective and drop down to ground level near the library building. The compass marker will tick down as you close in, so follow it rather than trying to line up the balcony from a distance.

Compass objective marker reading 27 m as Coen closes in on the cathedral library at night — The compass marker counts down as you approach the library building. Image: Rebel Wolves

Use Shadowstep to get onto the library roof, then bring yourself down to the lower platform on the opposite side. Clawride works here if you would rather slide down the wall than take the drop.

Coen clinging to a stone wall while the quest tracker shows the Rescue your family timer — Clawride lets you descend the wall instead of taking the fall damage. Image: Rebel Wolves

Run around to the back of the library building. The balcony you want is on the second story, and it is not visible from the locked garden door.

Coen sprinting toward the rear of the library with the Haste prompt on screen — Sprint around to the rear of the library to line up the balcony jump. Image: Rebel Wolves

Shadowstep a second time to land on the balcony, then open the balcony door and step inside. That single door is what the whole objective hinges on.

Coen stepping through the dark balcony doorway into the cathedral library — The balcony door opens straight into the upper floor of the library. Image: Rebel Wolves

Daytime route: get access from the deacon

If you arrive in daylight, the quest hands you a legitimate way in. It takes longer and it involves a fight, but it also feeds you the Caretaker’s key and a few optional objectives along the way.

Enter the cathedral and speak with the Deacon, who is one of the highlighted characters in Focus Mode. He claims to know nothing about a crypt, but he will trade library access for help locating the missing caretaker.

Head to the Almshouse on the church grounds and go upstairs, through the first door you reach. Inspect the scratch marks on the floor to reveal that the bookshelf is hiding a doorway, then follow the steps down.

Defeat the Almshouse Monstrosity waiting below and loot the room for the Caretaker’s key. Save before you commit, since the fight can outpace an underlevelled Coen.

Return to the Deacon and report what happened to the caretaker. That closes out the errand and opens the library door for you, no rooftop work required.

How to confirm the library objective completed

The moment you step through the door, Coen comments on the sheer number of books and notes that he should start looking for the chronicle. A QUEST UPDATED prompt fires at the same time.

The tracker then swaps “Gain access to the cathedral library” for “Find the cathedral chronicle in the library”, with an optional line to check the library index to locate it. The chronicle sits upstairs next to a desk, marked by small gold butterflies fluttering around the shelf, and reading it at the desk points you toward St. Mihai’s crypt.

Cathedral Complex Library Key location

Grab the key on your first visit so you never have to redo the Shadowstep chain. It is a few seconds of work once you are inside.

From the balcony, take the stairs down to the first floor. Walk toward the main locked door that faces the garden.

Turn right just before you reach the door and take the Cathedral Complex Library Key off the book stand sitting there. Then unlock the main door from the inside so it stays open for the rest of your playthrough.

Note: the Library Key and the Treasury Key are separate items. The Treasury Key is found in the Cathedral Complex Belltower, either from the Acolyte during the day or by sneaking past Xanthe after dark.

Manuals and loot inside the library

Interact with every bookcase before you leave. Alongside lore volumes such as History of Vale Sangria, Vol. I, the shelves can hold Manuals that unlock Witchcraft and Swordmastery abilities or extend their perks. The selection is randomized, so your run may not match anyone else’s.

Manual	Type
Soul Reaping	Witchcraft
Potent Blood	Witchcraft
Evil Eye	Witchcraft
Aether Flow	Witchcraft
Forbidden Sigils	Witchcraft
Restless Blade	Swordmastery
Fleet Foot	Swordmastery
Charge	Swordmastery

Why the balcony route fails

Only a handful of things stop this from working. The garden door will not budge from the outside without the key, so trying to force it is wasted time. The balcony climb also depends on Shadowstep and Clawride being available, which means it is a night-only option.

Everything on the cathedral grounds after dark is flagged as TRESPASSING, and guards react accordingly. Xanthe is also active around the cathedral and belltower at night, and getting caught by her starts a boss fight you may not be ready for. If your vampire abilities are still locked, come back during the day and take the deacon’s route instead.

Trespassing warning on screen alongside the optional objective to investigate the cathedral treasury — A trespassing flag appears while the optional treasury objective sits on the tracker. Image: Rebel Wolves

Once the front door is unlocked, the library becomes a normal stop on your route through the Cathedral Complex, and the chronicle upstairs carries A Monk and a Saint forward toward St. Mihai’s crypt.